Out of The Light of The Sun
by Nightly Trickster
Summary: Sawada Tsunayoshi has been living a lie of tragedy, a young boy with a mind of a wise but damaged adult. Despite the negativity of his reputation as Yasuhiro's "The Cursed Eyes" stone-cold brother, his passion for writing - his occasional escape resort - might change his life in the most unexpected way. Slight OOC!Tsuna Semi-AU
1. Chapter One

Disclaimer: I own nothing other than the plot, KHR belongs solely to Amano-sensei :)

**Full summary:**

**Sawada Tsunayoshi has been living a lie of tragedy, a young boy with a mind of a wise but damaged adult. Despite the negativity of his reputation as Yasuhiro's "The Cursed Eyes" stone-cold brother, his passion for writing - his occasional escape resort - might change his life in the most unexpected way.**

**As the secrets behind the deep tension between the tight-lipped brothers slowly being uncovered in due time, even Reborn himself is torn. Yasuhiro and Tsunayoshi, both with equally potential as the last Vongola heirs – who will be chosen to claim the throne as the Decimo of Vongola?**

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**Chapter One**

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A shaky breath left his mouth as he tugged his sleeves, a pair of jaded honey brown eyes locked on the rainy sky above. The starless, cloudy midnight blue sky itself looks gloomy tonight – so dark it felt like he had been staring into the void of emptiness, as if it was mourning. The melancholy sound of the small raindrops rolling down the glass window added to the suffocating atmosphere, where he strangely found the comfort he seek for. His skinny frame was shaking at the harsh chilly night wind that would occasionally slipping through the curtain, brushing against his hair and face, but somehow he didn't really mind it. In fact, he adored everything about tonight. The silence, the cold, the darkness – it's perfect.

The young Sawada Tsunayoshi reverted his eyes down at the alarm clock on his desk, sighing softly at the glowing numbers in bright neon green. He moved to sit on his bed as he had been doing earlier, shoulders hunched forward with a pair of thin lips tugged downwards into a soft frown. It was already 3 AM yet he was still wide awake, not even the calm instrumental music in his playlist could soothe him to sleep as it usually does. He had been tossing and turning around for the last few hours, changing his position every so often hoping to soon drift off, but nothing worked so far. He was no longer surprised by this fact, however. He had always been having a sleeping problem ever since he was a child, at some point it could get so worse that not even those prescribed pills could help.

Just a few weeks ago, he had been going around like a zombie with giant dark bags under his eyes, his already pale skin turning into an unhealthy shade and his sudden weight loss from the lack of appetite – it scared the living out of his schoolmates and teachers that he literally looked like a _walking dead._ A few students who were the closest to the door actually screaming bloody murder when he first came in after a long summer break, and he had to admit though, that was actually kind of amusing. He never knew the true meaning of fun of scaring people up until that moment; no wonder a certain prefect seemed to enjoy himself so much every single time.

The twisted glee of having to watch those blood-drained faces, as if their lives were flashing before their very terror-filled eyes and horrified screams – God, those screams. It gave him an adrenaline-rush sadistic satisfaction like no other - knowing that he was the one in control over something, over his _preys_ that were at the mercy of a _predator_. "Great, now I sound like Kyoya too damn it." he murmured as soon as he caught up what he had just been thinking.

Tsuna forced himself to lie down on his side, curling his body as small as possible, arms held tight around his knees close to his chest. He couldn't shake off the uneasy feeling of being closely watched for the last few days, and that worried him greatly. As much as he hated admitting his weakness, it's hard to defend himself properly from what he doesn't know. It had first started around two weeks ago, when he was heading off to school. He had a strange feeling that somebody was following him from a distance but every time he turned, nobody was in sight. It unnerved him and as far as he was concerned, the paranoia was starting to interfere with his daily life. He had been so on edge ever since to the point that every little sound made him jumpy, and absolutely no one aside from Nana was allowed to come near him. He didn't like it one bit, nor did his friends.

It was hard to focus in the class with those distracting thoughts in his mind jumbled together making him unable to answer even the simple questions during his Mathematics class, much to the teacher's chagrin and amusement.

Even the usually laid-back Nana noticed her son's sudden distant and withdrawn behavior when his replies became short, cold one-worded answer rather than his usual proper sentence. She had long given up trying to get an answer out of him when he kept avoiding the question and distracted her with something else – he was like her husband at some point, both were ridiculously stubborn hard-headed. If he didn't want to tell something, then he won't. No matter how hard you try or what method you use, nothing could budge him.

Tsuna had felt an immense guilt about that, he really did, but there wasn't much that he could do. It wasn't not that he didn't trust Nana, God forbid, it was actually the exact opposite. He just didn't like the helplessness of having to rely on others, an opposite to his nature of dealing with things on his own. Reckless and somewhat stupid he might be sometimes, but definitely far from helpless. The 14 year old had always been the one with trust issues with pretty much everyone, especially adults.

In a way, he was just like Nana though she didn't seem like it. 'Don't be fool with what you see, for it might not be what lies underneath' – as ironic as it was, everyone seems to be easily fooled by the air-headed housewife she appeared to be. She had never questioned Iemitsu's ridiculously dumb excuses that he pulled every now and then, accepting it with a smile that no doubt can fool just about anyone, but that didn't mean she believed it. Iemitsu is a woman's dream man – a gentleman, a hopelessly romantic husband and a loving father, but even she had to admit that he must have been taking her for a complete brainless idiotic fool if he really thought that his picture taken with penguins in South Pole of all places, wouldn't raise her suspicion about his work as a construction worker. If that was even his true line of work.

The same teaching applies to her youngest son now. Throughout his childhood years, he had never really tried to make friends with his peers and liked to sit back and watched from the sidelines while the other kids were having their fun. He wasn't anti-social like how everyone thought, he was just an introvert. It started as adorably shy at first, only interacting with his brother and Nana but soon it developed into something more as the years passed by. The difference between the twins were too obvious and he was used to being rejected by his childhood playmates that he eventually learned how to deal with his loneliness, transferring his thoughts into words on a piece of paper instead – that was how his love for books was found. He was encouraged even more when Nana would sometimes bought him new books from the store, often with big words and logic that wasn't meant for a child but he loved learning and discovering new things so that was fine. If Nana have the time, she would even spend time with him in his room and read along with him.

He was told many times that being too quiet was unhealthy and bottling everything up to himself could lead to his downfall in an endless pit of doom. He didn't doubt that, but he couldn't change whom he was either. It's just the way he always have been. And adding to his awkwardness at conversations, it's a wonder that he made friends at all.

Quite different for Yasuhiro though, he was naturally an expressive extrovert child. The blond was never really afraid to give his opinion when asked and his friendly trait earned him a lot of friends regardless of age and gender. Out of the two, he was the usually more outstanding and affectionate, always ready to give somebody a hug to those who needed it. He had noticed that Tsuna was always alone and even tried to coax the brunet to play along with him and his friends, but was always declined with a shy, polite smile from him. That didn't mean he gave up though, he kept trying at every chance he got. Tsuna may not show it, but he was silently afraid. He was afraid that he will be forgotten because he was more like an obstacle in the blond's way if anything, and it still scared him to this day that he might be true.

Yasuhiro wasn't blind. His brother tends to be oblivious at times, especially towards things that involve psychology and feelings, but he was anything but blind. He knew that Yasuhiro had seen some of his 'friends' would sometimes confront him back then for his avoidant behavior, but he never did anything. And he was pretty sure that Yasuhiro knew that he had seen him, but the blond would make sure to always avoid him ever since, and he admitted that it had hurt him more than anything. He was mad, he felt bitter - their once strong brotherly bond was on thin line of ice, if not already broken. They would fight almost every single day, over something silly or just about anything. There would be shouting matches, accusation, finger-pointing and sometimes even physical fight. And he would be the first to always leave the scene, though not unscathed, but afterwards he would stay away from his brother as far as possible.

Now in middle school, while the youngest of two's circle of friends have yet to improve, still as small to none, but his link of acquaintances certainly have. Two of them being his own classmates, quite surprisingly. He actually managed to have a somewhat friendly conversation with Sasagawa Kyoko, dubbed as the most cute and desirable idol of the school, along with her sarcastic and protective best friend, Kurokawa Hana. He had been calling them by their full-names like he did to everyone else, but slowly they were on first-name basis the more they talked. Now though, they can already be considered as friends if anything.

It had began after Kyoko accidentally discovered his hidden talent for writing when she had found a book that turned out to be a hand-written short novel. She was fascinated, to say at least. She was the first to start talking to him ever since, slowly followed by Hana when she decided that he was different from the rest of the 'monkeys' – whatever she meant by that. His occasional conversations with the girls made his classmates sit on edge of their seats, but no one dared to do anything. Well, it's actually pretty funny if you look at the situation at hand, they said that nobody was able to be within a meter from him and not feeling sick or anxious and so on. A whole lot of crap, really.

He certainly have built quite a reputation over the years of being a loner and an outcast, some even fear him for his lack of words and unfriendly emotionless, empty look in his eyes that stare right into one's soul managed to stir a rumor or two. The one that stood out the most was "The Cursed Eyes" - one look deep into his eyes brought pure bad luck to the poor unlucky soul, the curse of his eyes. It had been said that a student from a few years back was involved a terrible accident after a sour confrontation with him regarding the rumors. Where else the student was released from the hospital a week later with healed injuries, he later chose to transfer to another school to avoid further accidents. How the accident was even linked to his eyes, he had no absolute idea, but they certainly do have a remarkable imagination though don't they?

Yasuhiro's own reputation has grown too, as expected. He was now more well-likeable and quite talented on stage too, especially in public speaking and speeches. He has his own charisma with the way he talked, charming those who heard it with his gentle voice but still laced with its own firmness. His self-confidence and gentle approach were his strong points that drawn the others like a human magnet, said to be a perfect candidate for a leader and unknowingly recruiting even more people into his ever-growing fan club.

Tsuna didn't really bother to know about his brother's growing popularity, but he do know that the blond's circle of close friends consisted of their own classmates, a few upperclassmen and childhood friends. One of them being Yamamoto Takeshi, an only son of the owner of TakeSushi and a very promising baseball star player of their school. He usually didn't let anyone bother him that much, but he could sense that Yamamoto knows more than he let on. There was something more beneath that stupid trademark grin of his and his easy-going behavior – he was too relax for his own good, and that was never a good sign. He had also noticed that the black-haired boy would sometimes scrutinize him silently, analyzing him as if he was some kind of new foundation. But alas, Yamamoto wasn't his friend nor his acquaintance - he could only try to figure out the mystery around that boy from afar, nothing more. How troublesome.

The young brunette inwardly smiled at the thought of his few rare friends that he was lucky enough to be able to find; Hibari Kyoya and Kusakabe Tetsuya from the Students Disciplinary Committee. They have bonded quite well over the years and had gotten pretty close too, the others from the committee were reluctant at first when the bloodthirsty prefect and his subordinate first included him in a meeting, but later changed their mind after his frequent visits. He was intrigued, to say at least, with the sudden change of decision but he didn't dare to ask. Had it not been them, he didn't think he will ever know the true meaning of friendship, let alone finding one. Truth to be told, his first encounter with Kyoya wasn't exactly a pleasant experience either.

He got away with a broken arm and a few bruises after he, rather stupidly, had broken the school dress code on purpose - just for the thrill of it if anything else - not that he have stopped doing it now. It was fun riling that bloodthirsty prefect up, consequences be damned. From that first encounter though, he was upgraded to 'omnivore' by the said prefect as he was deemed worthy enough in his eyes. Kyoya was a true carnivore; fearless, strong and very, very territorial. He was strong back then, and was even more now. At some point, he had really starting to wonder if he was slowly becoming a magnet of weird and dangerous people. Really. Those who were still associated to him are either bloodthirsty, or just plain madly crazy. Or just a little bit of both.

And speaking of which, a mischievous smile lit up his face at the thought of annoying the crap out of the said prefect. He reached for his cellphone underneath his pillow and quickly dialed a familiar number, waiting patiently for the person from the end of the line to answer his call. Balancing the phone with one hand while shifting his position onto his side, the smile never left his face. He was digging his own grave here by disturbing the prefect's sleep, but a deep growl laced with heavy sleepiness from the said person certainly worth the shot.

"_Omnivore, you have exactly five seconds to explain yourself before I bite you to death,"_

Tsuna's smile widened. "Damn, Kyoya keep those fangs of yours to yourself and don't be mean." he said, almost pouting when he stretched the 'e'. "Sorry, sorry. I was just bored and couldn't sleep, so I thought about bugging you a bit. Teehee."

Never in a million years have he ever thought of actually joking around with somebody he could call a friend, but hey that's what friendship does to you. He had opened up to Kyoya and Kusakabe years ago, and they had accepted him just the way he was without a slight of hesitation. And thus, they were already a family whether they like it or not, and Nana herself already picked the habit of preparing dinner for five people instead of the usual three. And before she knew it, instead of having two sons, she got four and he was pretty sure that there was more to come.

"_...Do you even know what time it is?" _was the disgruntled reply on the other line, and Tsuna can already imagine Kyoya pinching the bridge of his nose out of annoyance and frustrated exasperation – a habit he picked up on when there was no one around.

"Uh," Tsuna took a glance at his small clock on the desk yet again, blinking in confusion. Had it really been that long since he sky-gazing? And when did it stopped raining? "ah, it's 4:30 in the morning!" he answered cheerfully, his sing-song voice was being annoyingly high-pitched on purpose.

"_Omnivore, sleep. Now."_ growled the prefect again, clearly upset having his sleep being disturbed for nothing. _"I don't care what you do, but sleep or I'll bite you death tomorrow morning."_

"Mou, you sure got your panties in a twist every morning eh Kyoya." Tsuna teased, holding back a smirk even though the other person couldn't see it. "Technically, it's today but never mind, I'll humor you."

"_Omnivore,"_ he warned, the underlying half-hearted threat was left unsaid.

Tsuna who was done having his fun annoying the poor sleeping Kyoya, finally relented. "Sheesh! Alright, alright. Night then, Kyoya."

The brunet's eyebrows furrowed when the call was promptly ended without so much for a goodbye, his lower lip slowly pooched out resembling a pout as he rolled his eyes in annoyance. That was expected from the ever bloodthirsty and aloof head prefect but come on, was that rude!

Though the prefect was being quite lenient when it comes to him or the committee members, Tsuna knew when not to press the boundaries. He knew how much it hurts being let down by the very person you cared for, having your trust taken for granted and tossed away like it meant absolutely nothing. The permanent scars from the physical wounds will never leave, but the wounds will eventually heal. The wounds on the inside though, is a completely different story. Even though he never asked the prefect himself, he knew he had been hurt the same way, somehow – and he never wanted to open the old wounds and risked the little trust he was given.

Tsuna sighed and placed his cellphone on the pillow next to him, eyes drawn to the wallpaper on the screen. It was his family, along with his brother and Iemitsu during Christmas break three years ago. _The last time he visited,_ he thought. There's no resentment or blind fury in his eyes for his father's absence like one would expect from a growing up teenager, instead only bitter acceptance. He still didn't like it, but he knew that his father was trying to make things work out. And even though the man would probably wouldn't know it, he have earned his respect for that.

Grandfather Timoteo was at the center while Iemitsu and Nana were on either side of him, both smiling big with warmth of happiness radiating from their bright eyes even in the picture. It was one of the rare times that Nana seemed truly happy, though she said nothing but her eyes did. They lit up so bright in the way that only Iemitsu can do, and he both hated and loved the man for that. He hated Iemitsu for being so blatant oblivious towards his wife's pain, but couldn't help but love him for trying his hardest and loves her in the only way he knows how.

Yasuhiro and him were standing in front of their parents respectfully, both were also smiling though his looked more like a grimace if anything but a smile nonetheless. Yasuhiro with Iemitsu's unruly blond hair that stick up to every direction and a pair of beautiful dark brown eyes that showed nothing but kindness and warmth, was wearing a dark green long-sleeved shirt with a pair of faded blue pants and a light blue scarf wrapped over his neck, a gentle smile placed on his face. He on the other hand, has Nana's dark brown hair with the same hairstyle if only a tad more _fluffier_ with a pair of unsetling cold honey brown eyes that seemed to carefully hide away any trace of emotions from view, was wearing a midnight blue oversized hoodie with a pair of black pants and a black scarf over his own neck – both were knitted by Nana herself.

Grandfather Timoteo wasn't really the their grandfather, but somehow the title fits him perfectly. With his soft, warm eyes that subconsciously pulls you in and his grandfatherly loving smile that seems to touch even the frozen hearts, it's almost impossible for anyone to even have an ill thought about him.

Yasuhiro was the first to warm up to him during his first visit with Iemitsu when they were five, while he stayed with Nana all the time, smiling politely when needed but otherwise kept his distance. He had a strong feeling that Timoteo wasn't an ordinary man whom must not to be messed with at all costs, that got him a little more nervous and wary of him. He had seen the old man's knowing smile at his behavior whenever no one else was looking, oddly seeming to approve of him being so cautious. Iemitsu on the other hand, not so much. His father thought he was just being his cutesy overly shy self and kept trying to make him open up, much to his exasperation, but he loved the man nonetheless.

"I missed you, brother," A soft whisper was heard as his eyes never left the screen, before they hardened into an emotionless blank look and his smile faded into a grim tight line. His fist balled and he kept his phone back under his pillow so that he couldn't see the screen anymore, a harsh breath of frustration and anger left his mouth in the process. "but I hate you, you know that? And I can't find myself to forgive you for what you did either." He continued where he left off, letting his eyes closed as he slowly lost in his own thoughts. The last part was a lie, he knew that although he never acknowledged it. He was a liar who lies – a masked pretender. He had been pretending for years, he could do it again if only for just a little while more.

If he could lie right to the world, why not to himself?

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**To be continued...**

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**Author's Note:**

**This is my first attempt to write a story, and I'm sorry for any grammar mistakes as English isn't my first language but I've tried my best ^^'**

**I'll edit this chapter soon and improving critiques are most welcomed! And please correct me if any mistakes are found, I don't mind some critisicm. Lastly, I'd like to know your thoughts about this story and if it's worth continuing :)  
**

**1) Tsuna-chan and Nana-chan are kind of OOC in this story, I think? I'm sorry HIIEEEEE but it gets better, I promise! *hides***

**2) This is a twin-fic, but not really your cliche ones (I hope?) *plays with my fingers***

**\- Nightly Trickster  
**


	2. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

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"Good morning, Mama." greeted Tsuna as he sat around the table, stifling a yawn along the way. He walked around wobbly with barely enough strength to even standing on his two feet in his half-asleep state, his dark bags from the lack of sleep stood out against the sickly pale skin – overall looking worse for wear. His attire was no better; with his disheveled uniform and a half-done tie hanged over his collar, his usual messy brown hair that defied the laws of gravity was still wet and unmanageable. No surprise there. Having to spend fifteen minutes every morning to groom his hair was too troublesome and a waste of time in his opinion, so he gave up and left it at that.

There was no exaggeration on his part that his appearance used to cause him lots of trouble. The feminine features that he inherited from Nana's side of family were more prominent as a child; slender body, fair skin, a pair of big doe-like eyes and his shortness in height. It didn't help his case that Nana used to have this strange hobby of dressing him up as a living-doll, literally filling his whole closet with wigs and costumes – and he would never forget that embarrassing moment when he had gotten several weird looks from people in the store when he was shopping for clothes at boys section, one time too many. As he grew older, Nana had to pack away the costumes in a box so he would have more rooms for his normal everyday clothes in the closet because, well, he was growing up. Not to mention that she still have those heels and his own set of makeup, far from his reach for obvious reasons.

Unlike his brother, while Yasuhiro still have his fair share of her features, they weren't really obvious having being dominant by Iemitsu's manly and tough-guy look. The blond was a very active child who just loved exploring whenever he could, either on his own or with friends. He used to come home with scraped knees or elbows but never empty-handed, be it flowers or butterflies in a jar, he would always bring back something for Nana every time he went out. His excessive amount of energy made it hard for him to sit still, always itching to do something. He couldn't stand the silence either, the stillness in the atmosphere caused him to be nervous and twitchy for no reason. He didn't like it. That was probably the reason they were never close to begin with, after all fire and ice just don't belong together do they?

Tsuna crossed both of his arms on the table, resting his head on top of them. He watched Nana wiping the counter silently, tapping his fingers against the wooden table in an absentminded manner. The smell of his favorite food – mushroom soup – would usually catch his attention almost immediately, yearning for the heavenly taste of the home-made food that she prepared herself. But today though, he really didn't feel like eating and he doubted he could keep anything down even if he tried. He just got out of his bed but the throbbing headache already wore him out. And if he remembered it correctly, today there would be a monthly test too. _Mathematics, _his mind supplies. His most dreaded subject of all.

If his empty stomach wouldn't bother him, then this headache definitely will. Oh, joy.

"Good morning, Tsu-" Nana trailed off as soon as she saw the state her youngest son was in. She sighed, putting down the cloth she had been holding and flopped down in the seat next to him. "Can't sleep again? You look dead on your feet." Her usual light and cheery tone turned serious in mere seconds, but kept it as low and soothing as she gently pushed back the bangs away from his forehead. She frowned in concern when his eyes shut tight as if he was in pain, assuming it was the headache again. She noted his lack of interest to talk and left it at that, promptly pressing a light kiss on his head instead. "I'll go wake up your brother. Sleep for now, Tsu-kun. You look like you really need it."

"Ah. Thanks, Mama." was the muffled reply from the sleepy brunet and Nana couldn't help but smile down at him. If not for the situation, she would have squealed and fretted over him like she usually did when he was a child. He has outgrew his cute baby fat and childish innocence over the years, but he was still and always be her adorable baby boy even with that poker expression he constantly wear on his face. It's safe to say that it was heart-breaking to see him grew up so quickly, too quickly for her liking – he was too mature and too serious for a teenager and a selfish part of her wished he would never grow up so she could hold him tight and shield him from the eyes of this ugly world they live in. But that's all it will ever be – a wish.

It wasn't unusual for him to stay at home for a long time, helping her with the house chores whenever he could or doing the grocery shopping for her from time to time. If there was nothing left for him to do, he would seclude himself in his room later in the evenings until it was time for dinner or when somebody went to get him. Normally she wouldn't mind this, but lately it had come to her notice that he became so drastically skinny that it started to worry her. A lot. His sunken cheeks was the result of his loss of appetite from the last few weeks, only had a small bowl of mushroom soup, porridge or some vegetables and fruits that Nana made sure he would eat at a suffice amount before he left the table. It was the least she could do.

Being a naturally small-framed child and a very picky eater, Tsuna would only join them for meal when being forced to or when it was absolutely necessary to – usually when Iemitsu came home or when they have guests over. He wasn't really a fan of meat and fast-food either, thus his portion of food was always be half of what Yasuhiro would usually eat. It wasn't easy, and her persuasion and Yasuhiro's gentle approach don't always work for him, but they refused to give up. Nana would keep trying and as a mother herself, she knew that she would stop at nothing for her children.

Over the years, his food-picking habit soon became an obstacle for his growth. Now at a young age of 14, he stood only at 5'2 tall – a couple inches shorter than his brother. It didn't help that he wasn't an athletic child to make up for the disadvantage, and she knew he was still frustrated whenever he was compared to his tall and well-built older brother by people around almost all the time but he had learned to deal with it.

She was happy to have such a responsible child to help her around the house, really, she did. And it's probably rather hypocritical of her for saying this, but sometimes she couldn't help but wished that her youngest son could be more like Yasuhiro sometimes. Carefree, somewhat childish and innocent, ignorant of the hidden ugly shade of this world. It's not necessarily a good thing that the blond would be too busy searching for the good in everyone that he disregard himself, but his ability to surround himself with so many things that make him happy that she wished that Tsuna could too sometimes.

Although the blond was rarely home, always busy with practice and going out with his friends – being in the school track team and all – but at least he was enjoying himself. Yasuhiro would always come back with a big smile on his face, telling her how much fun he had while she would listen quietly, occasionally throwing a few comments here and there. Yasuhiro and Tsunayoshi were like the sun and the moon, so different yet both are precious to her and Iemitsu – they were their pride.

She shook her head, quickly snapping out of her thoughts. Now wasn't the time for this. Glancing at the clock on the wall, she stood from her seat and hurried upstairs to wake the blond. If there was one thing she would forever be grateful for the twins' difference, it was for the brunet's punctuality and his strict self-made schedule that she had been practicing on both of them when they were at a tender age of seven. It didn't really effective for Yasuhiro, however, but he was improving.

Yasuhiro was the hardest to wake every morning, literally sleeping so soundly like a newborn baby. He was like Iemitsu in many ways, one of them being his tendency to sleep in no matter how many alarm clocks were placed the night before. Sometimes she would get frustrated when Iemitsu refused to get off of the bed and instead, pulling her down in the bed with him. She had to forced him to get up by his ear when his coworker called in, and that old trick worked with Yasuhiro too so she wasn't complaining much. It was amusing to see her oldest son running around like a headless chicken while yelling about being 'bitten to death' when she mentioned Kyoya's name. Same old, same old but she would never get tired of it.

"Mom? What are you doing up here?"

She stopped in her tracks at her son's voice, looking up at Yasuhiro who have just walked out of his room and already dressed in his school uniform. "Mou, Ya-kun's all grown up! You don't even need Mama to drag you downstairs anymore." She giggled as the blush spread across the blond's face, and couldn't resist to give him her best tight hug.

"Mom, that was one time! One time I'm telling you!" He half-heartedly struggled to get out of her death grip, clearly embarrassed having to be treated like a child even now when he's a middle-schooler. He was used to the treatment and finally allowed her to do as her please, finding his resistance was futile against her albeit rather reluctantly. He loved her smile and would do anything to make her happy, even if he had to endure this every morning. "Mom...can't...breathe!"

"Ara? Sorry, Ya-kun!" She smiled sheepishly, letting go of the gasping blond and led the way downstairs. "Come, Ya-kun. Tsu-kun's waiting."

"Ah," Yasuhiro nodded, trailing after her. "Mom, how's Tsuna today?" he asked quietly, unwilling to risk any chances of being overheard by his younger brother.

The brunet's condition was worsening day by day, and he would have to admit that he was getting afraid for him. They don't have the best sibling-relationship, that much was true, but Tsuna was _his_ sibling. His only _living _sibling, nonetheless. No matter how many times they fought or just couldn't get along, he was still concerned for the other's health and fearing the worst. The family would be devastated if they were to lose him, himself included. They weren't close, not at all, but he was there. He knew Tsuna was there, and that was the only thing he needed to know. It was like an unspoken agreement, them being there for each other in their own way. And although Tsuna didn't show it, he knew the brunet still hold onto _that_ promise.

He had notice Tsuna's strange eating habit when they were kids, sometimes the brunet would even go as far as to force himself to sleep just so he didn't have to eat with them. At first he thought that Tsuna hated him so much he couldn't be in the same room as him, and he would sometimes sleep over at his friends' house hoping to reduce Tsuna's anger for whatever reason it was. As they grew older, he doubted that was the case when he began to pick up his younger brother's habit.

"Nothing changed, Ya-kun." Nana said, smiling tightly at her oldest son. "He had trouble sleeping last night, and his appetite was just the same if not worse. I think his headache came back too."

Yasuhiro's lips pursued, not saying anything.

* * *

"You what!" Yasuhiro exclaimed, his chopsticks fell from his hand and onto the table. "What do you mean you've hired a tutor for us, Mom?"

Tsuna cringed from the noise, and Nana sent him an apologetic look before she hurried to answer the skeptic blond. "Mou, but Ya-kun! You failed Dohachiro-sensei's test twice now." She pouted, chiding him gently. "You can't always rely on Tsu-kun's note, you know."

"But Mom!" Yasuhiro protested, clenching his fist tightly.

"Not so loud, idiot." Tsuna hissed, massaging his throbbing temple. "And don't you raise your voice against her, it's rude. Didn't you learn any manners at all over the past years?"

The blond forcefully bit his tongue and held himself back from lashing out at his brother, reminding himself that Tsuna is unwell. "Watch that mouth of yours, Tsunayoshi." he warned, eyes narrowing at his brother who just scoffed.

"Oh? Or what, you're going to beat me up like before?" When Yasuhiro didn't reply, he pressed. "Is that it?"

"Tsu-kun, enough." Nana snipped when she sensed the situation would get out of hand if she didn't interfere. "There's s no need for that and you know it." She reverted her attention back on her oldest son and smiling softly, "Ya-kun, I understand that you're not comfortable having a stranger in the house but please, just this once. Give him a a chance okay?"

Yasuhiro nodded wordlessly, refusing to pay attention to his bitter younger brother. He had a feeling that the presence of this mysterious tutor of theirs is going to change their lives forever, either for good or bad he isn't sure but he was determined to find out.

* * *

Tsuna didn't speak to him at all since they left their house. He didn't even look at him. Yasuhiro had tried to get him to talk, even one worded answers would be enough but the youngest of the two siblings downright refused and asked to be left alone instead. The blond couldn't help but keep shooting his younger brother concern glances every so often along their way to school. It's not that Tsuna had never snapped before, he often did, but never in front of Nana. He wasn't sure if it was the headache that made him this irritable for no particular reason at all, or if there was something else that pushed him to this limit. The blond gave up on trying to coax an answer out of his brother when his attempt to talk was brushed off for the sixth time, sighing as he left the brunet with his own thoughts.

"Yo, Yasu!"

Yasuhiro snapped his head up at the sound of Yamamoto's cheerful voice, waving his hand up in the air in greeting. He jogged towards his childhood friend to catch up with each other as they walked towards school, occasionally a laughter could be heard from the duo over something funny that was being said. From the latest joke to the stuffs they did during the weekend – the topic is basically endless between these two. Both Yamamoto and Yasuhiro are an extrovert at heart, neither of them could stand silence for long before one of them was itching to break it. Given their excessive energy from being one of the school athletes, neither of them could sit still either. They would get bored easily and that would lead to one thing for sure – sleeping.

Well, that explains their tendency to sleep in class doesn't it?

For a moment, he had forgotten about his conflict with his younger brother as he distracted himself with Yamamoto's chatter. Being best friends for years, the black-haired teen naturally knows him best especially about the siblings' rocky relationship with one another. The baseball player somehow just knew how important the brunet was to him and how much it bothered him each and every time they fight. He could somehow guess what was on his mind as if it has been written on his face, using it to his advantage to provide the blond with enough distraction to wash the tension away.

The duo had known each other since their kindergarten days, getting along so well as if they had been living under the same roof for years. Both of them were practically glued together everywhere they went that Yamamoto's father often joked about their tight-knitted relationship and Nana being Nana, giggled at the embarrassed boys every time the topic was brought up. The first time they had been introduced to each other by their respective parents at the park, they were inseparable ever since - countless of sleep-overs and outdoor activities is a must. As the bond between the two grew stronger, however, somewhere along the way his own bond with Tsuna fell apart. Their differences resulted to both of the siblings to have a wide gap between them and thus caused a great discomfort whenever they were to be in the same room for long.

The blond would be lying if he said he wasn't affected at all by this fact, he would feel a pang in his chest whenever he think about it. At the rate they were going, sometimes he wondered if they were actually related at all. The twins now literally two strangers tied to each other by an invisible thread of family, nothing more nothing less. The only time they would see each other was either during meals or in between classes. Other than that, they would often find themselves in their own rooms doing their own thing. Neither of them had tried to pry into the other's life - at least not blatantly obvious kind of way. On some days, Yasuhiro would have a private talk with Nana asking her about how the silent brunet was doing. It was the only way he could know anything about him at all and the responses he had received from her worried him greatly even to this day.

_"He's falling apart, Ya-kun. He refused to talk to anyone about whatever it is that has been bothering him, your dad and I had been trying all kinds of method we could think of and I don't like admitting this but nothing worked. Neither of us know what's wrong with him or how to help him. He'll break if we don't do something soon."_

Nana's voice was still ringing in his ears and as the years passed by, the frustration in his chest has grown too. He hated feeling so helpless, being so near to his brother and yet still so far away to even do anything about it. He desperately wanted to help and he might just have been several years too late to fix the severed bond between them, but he would die first before even thinking about giving up. He would do absolutely anything to help getting Tsuna back on the track, his nature as the older sibling refused to let him give up on his job as an older brother. After all, family should stick together through thick and thin and be there for one another no matter what happens. That's what family really is, isn't it?

"Oi, Yasu! Are you listening?" Yamamoto nudged the blond with his elbow when his question was left without any sorts response. "Ah, figured you won't be listening after all."

Yasuhiro smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck on instinct. "Sorry, sorry. I got distracted by something."

"You mean like you always do," was the teasing response from the grinning Yamamoto, laughing when he was punched on the shoulder by the scowling blond.

"What an asshole,"

* * *

**To be continued...**

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**1) First thing first, I'd like to apologize to all my readers for the late update and I know that there's no excuse for my tardiness it's just that for the past few months I had been busy with exams especially after I just newly transferred to my new school. Again, I'm so terribly sorry and I'll make it up to you by posting the third chapter as soon as I could.**

**2) I'm sorry for the length of this chapter, it's a slow-build I know but I'll try my best for each chapter as writing is my passion even though I'm not exactly good at it :)**

**\- Nightly Trickster**


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